Meredith Brooks
| birth_place = Corvallis, Oregon | Origin = Oregon City, Oregon, United States | instrument = Vocals, guitar | genre = | occupation = | years_active = 1976–2007 (as artist) | label = Capitol Gold Circle Kissing Booth }} Meredith Ann Brooks (born June 12, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for her 1997 hit song "Bitch", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award. Career Brooks started her music career in 1976 as a member of an all-female band called Sapphire, based in Eugene, Oregon, touring and recording with CMS Records in the Pacific Northwest. Her bandmates were Janis Gaines, Cynthia Larsen, Patricia French and Pam Johnson. Seeking greater success, Brooks pushed the band to move to Seattle without Gaines on keyboards, reducing Sapphire to a foursome. In Seattle, Sapphire recorded at Kaye-Smith Studios at the same time as Heart. When this version of the band split in 1982, Brooks moved to Los Angeles to develop a solo career, releasing an album titled Meredith Brooks in 1986, which saw limited success in Mexico. In 1987, she joined Charlotte Caffey and Gia Ciambotti to form the trio the Graces, releasing the single "Lay Down Your Arms" which rose to number 56 on Billboard s charts. The Graces subsequently released an album, Perfect View, and three more singles, but these did not chart, and the Graces were dropped from the A&M label in 1991. Solo career In 1995, Brooks landed a solo contract with Capitol Records. After two years, her first single, "Bitch", was released, and she was nominated twice for the 1998 Grammy Awards, for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. The single went Platinum in Australia."ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 1997 Singles". Accessed July 28, 2016. Her album Blurring the Edges achieved Platinum sales, peaking at 22 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and 5 on the UK Albums Chart. The album was produced by David Ricketts, formerly of David and David, and he also played keyboards (among other instruments) on the album. Brooks toured in the US and Europe in 1997 and 1998 to support the album, and also participated in the Lilith Fair music festival tour in both of those years. On March 30, 1998, in Argentina, she opened for the Rolling Stones. During her set the crowd demanded the Stones and became violent, throwing objects including rocks and tampons at the stage and bruising her eye. She appeared again the next day wearing an Argentine soccer shirt, but the crowd again threw things at her, so after singing "Bitch" she threw the shirt on the ground and walked off. In 1999, Brooks recorded her second album, Deconstruction. The track "Sin City" was recorded for the movie Snake Eyes. In 2002, Brooks signed with independent label Gold Circle Records.https://books.google.com/books?id=oRAEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA8&lpg=PA8Billboard. April 6, 2002. p. 8. Accessed July 28, 2016. She worked on her third album, Bad Bad One. The label folded immediately after releasing the album. In 2002, she produced Jennifer Love Hewitt's album BareNaked and appeared on VH1 Divas Las Vegas as a guest guitar soloist with Celine Dion and Anastacia. Brooks signed a record deal with SLG Records and re-issued Bad Bad One as Shine in 2004. The track "Shine" was used as the theme music for Dr. Phil from 2004-08. The instrumental remix appears as the last track on the album. In 2007 Brooks completed a new children's album titled If I Could Be... and is developing Portland area Sony Music Entertainment artist Becca. Brooks is a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism. In 2018 the song "I'm a Mess" was a worldwide chart hit for Bebe Rexha. While an original song, it does borrow some of its melody from Brooks' earlier hit "Bitch." As a result, Meredith Brooks is listed as a co-writer of the song. Awards and nominations Singles References External links * * Kissing Booth, personal blog * Meredith Brooks Top 40 Mainstream Page Category:1958 births Category:Meredith Brooks Category:Living people Category:American female singer-songwriters Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American female guitarists Category:APRA Award winners Category:Singers from Oregon Category:Musicians from Corvallis, Oregon Category:People from Oregon City, Oregon Category:Corvallis High School (Oregon) alumni Category:Songwriters from Oregon Category:Guitarists from Oregon Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:20th-century women musicians Category:The Graces (band) members Category:Jennifer Love Hewitt Category:Hans Zimmer Category:Babyface (musician) Category:Michael McDonald (musician) Category:Diane Warren